Dr. Stephen Law
University of Oxford, UK
Biography: Dr Stephen Law is currently Director of the CertHE and Director of Studies, Philosophy at Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. He was previousl Reader and Head of Department at heythrop College, University of London. He holds B.Phil and D.Phil degrees from The University of Oxford, where he held several lectureships and a three year stipendiary Junior Research Fellowship. He has published research in metaphysics, philosophy of language, later Wittgenstein and philosophy of religion. He is perhaps best-known for his popular introductory books on Philosophy, including The Philosophy Gym: 25 Short Adventures in Thinking.
Prof. William Hurst
Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands
Biography: Dr. Hurst is an Associate Professor in Data Science and eXtended Realities in the Information Technology Group and Head of the Social Creative Technologies Lab at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. With over 100 international publications, his research spans a wide range of areas, including data science, creative technologies, critical infrastructures, simulation, and 3D graphics. Dr. Hurst’s work focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies and their applications in real-world problems, exploring how XR can enhance fields such as education, agriculture, and environmental sustainability. In 2024, he led several grant-funded projects, including pioneering work on virtual reality for data science education, gamification techniques for agricultural applications, and the development of software for immersive environments. His educational background includes a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, a PhD in Computer Science, an MSc in Web Computing, and a BSc (Hons) in Product Design.
Prof. Hua Dai
California State University Channel Islands, USA
Biography: Hua Dai is a Professor of Management Information Systems at Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics of California State University at Channel Islands, USA. Her research interests include electronic commerce, eService, big data and business analytics, blockchain and metaverse, outsourcing, IS cross-cultures, and recently, AI applications in business. Dr. Dai’s research has been published in European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, Decision Support Systems, The Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, Electronic Markets, ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, among others.
Dr. Sepi Chakaveh
University of Oxford, UK
Biography: Dr Sepi Chakaveh is a Departmental Lecturer in Data Science & Course Director of Undergraduate Advanced Diploma in
IT Systems Design, Department for Continuing Education, and a Research Member of Wolfson College, University of Oxford, UK.
Dr Chakaveh has a BSc in Electronic Engineering and a PhD in Experimental Astrophysics and Space Sciences from the University of Kent. She has extensive experience as a Senior Scientist/Academic working both in the UK and Germany, including Imperial College London, Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg, University of Göttingen, Fraunhofer Society and the University of Southampton where she was the co-founder and the former Director of Southampton Data Science Academy, the first UK online data science academy. She has recently received the Research Common Room Membership at Wolfson College.
Dr Chakaveh research focus is to design and engineer end-to-end, holistic data and AI-driven applications which solve real-life problems. In this context, she has developed many AI-based applications - for one of which she has won the Everywoman Innovator Award 2020 and ConnectTVT Technology Game Changer 2021. And in particular, her software innovation for Row4Ukraine supported an extraordinary Atlantic rowing mission. Her PixselChat, enabled clear communication between a team of injured British and Ukrainian servicemen as they set off to row 3,000 miles from Gran Canaria to Barbados.
Shuliang Li
PhD, Fellow (Life member) of the British Computer Society,
Reader in Business Information Management & Systems,
University of Westminster, United Kingdom
(Also Sichuan 100-Talent Scheme Visiting Professor at Southwest Jiaotong University, China)
Biography: Dr Shuliang Li is a Fellow (life member) of the British Computer Society, Chairman and Director of LOxbridge High-Tech Forum (UK), Director of Information & Innovation & Inspiration (UK), Distinguished Visiting Professor in China, Sichuan 100 Talent Scheme Expert (China), Reader and former departmental research leader of the University of Westminster, London, UK, former Director of PhD Studies.
Dr Li received education and training from Southwest Jiaotong University (China), the University of Edinburgh, the University of Bedfordshire, the University of Westminster, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Harvard University, Nvidia, Meta, ARM Cambridge.
Dr Li has published more than 100 research papers, journal articles, books and other items. His papers have appeared in the following refereed journals: Decision Support Systems (the international journal), European Journal of Marketing, Expert Systems with Applications (an international journal), Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management (international journal), Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Industrial Management & Data Systems, International Journal of Management and Decision Making, Chinese Journal of Management Science, Mathematics, and others. His papers have also appeared in various conference proceedings published by IEEE. His publications have been widely downloaded and cited across the world. The world renowned decision support systems field teaching textbook, Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems (Seventh edition, Prentice Hall International, 2005), has included two pages of Shuliang’s research paper.
Dr Li has chaired more than 30 international conferences with the proceedings published by IEEE and Springer, and indexed by Ei Compendex, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc.
With established international research excellence for many years, Dr Li submitted for the UK Research Assessment Exercises (RAE) 2001 and 2008, and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.